A wide variety of methods for protection of documents and other goods from counterfeiting by means of marking them with special marks or labels are known in the prior art.
In some cases such marks are made of a special material having specific properties, e.g., a material that may be fluorescent in a particular light spectrum (U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,948 Apparatus and methods for fluorescent imaging and optical character reading), a material with magnetic features (U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,649 Articles employing a magnetic securities feature), or a material exhibiting anisotropy during absorption, reflection, transmission (U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,251 Authenticating system.), etc. Such materials may be also applied or included into a composition of a mark forming a particular figure, combination etc.
However, neither of the methods is able to provide total anti-counterfeit protection, since a pirate can recognize a material and use the same technique or even a higher one.
The other group of methods is based on the unique physical or chemical characteristics of a surface of a document or a product. For this purpose a section of the surface to be protected is scanned in accordance with the selected physical characteristic of a surface (WO97/24699 Authentication of articles). The scanned image is encoded and/or encrypted, and the obtained result is applied to the surface of an article or a document in the form of a numeral or a code. In the course of checking the authenticity, the surface is scanned by the testing device. The data obtained after scanning are processed by the same method, the code applied to the surface is decoded and/or is decrypted and compared to the result of processing of scanning.
Scanning of physical characteristics requires elaborated physical devices. The characteristics can have a wide physical range of variations and a high level of background characteristics. This fact makes their use rather expensive and reduces the degree of estimation validity. The major problem consists in determining the area of scanning, since use of the physical characteristics of a surface does not limit the scanning area to the proper physical characteristics impeding possibility of re-getting to the same region. Moreover, the encoding systems now in use, fail to provide a sufficient crypto-resistance of encoding, and the used keys may be restored for counterfeiting.
Specially structured materials, comprising randomly distributed fibers or other contrast inclusions that are easily readout by optical devices set for transmission or reflection (WO98/57299 Document with an authentication feature), are used for more reliable determination of random characteristics of a surface. In this case the scanning area is limited to special patterns or windows, that are applied to the surface of a label made of a structured material.
The labels of the kind may be manufactured and tagged to articles or documents. However, during re-readout the bulk structure and optical characteristics of fibers may cause errors leading to uncertainty of identification, on the account of errors in determining scanning areas, as well as because of inaccuracy in measuring medium characteristics. Moreover, such identification system requires elaborated equipment for precise determining of spatial optical characteristics. The similar system uses a label with randomly (irregularly) disposed dichroic fibers. Information on the producer, characteristics of the goods and information on the encoded result of scanning is disposed next on a label (WO99/17486 System and method for authentication of goods). However, the system requires special reading equipment for determining the optical characteristic of dichroity of fibers. In addition, disposition of fibers in the medium and inaccuracy in determining binding of fibers may result in considerable inaccuracies during re-readout while testing.
Additionally, during analysis of a great number of tags, the encoding system may also be “opened”, and tags may be counterfeited or simply transferred from original goods to counterfeited articles.
Prior art also discloses methods of protection of documents from copying by means of applying nonreplicable pitches to an image, e.g. press printed lineatures, etc. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,767 Counterfeited protected document; U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,853 Nonreplicable document and method for making same).
However, the said methods do not allow to identify quickly the article that may be counterfeit.
Methods and systems for protection of documents and postal matters from counterfeiting are also disclosed in the prior art. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,151 Method and arrangement for generating and checking a security impression) in accordance with the patent, specially encoded images and digits are applied to a document or to an envelope; the data on the said images and digits are stored in a remote control center. During checking a document image is scanned, encoded and transmitted to the data storage center, the data are compared to the stored value. Thereafter a conclusion on authenticity of a document is drawn.
The printed contrast image facilitates readout and increases reliability of identification of marking. Moreover, such methods provide a rather reliable control of document passage. However, the marking of the kind may be copied and applied onto another document, i.e. it may be counterfeited by substituting a document.
The prior art authentication systems generally comprise at least two remote scanners, a printing device, data processing means and communication means.
In the prior art systems a printing device imprints information and a code. Moreover, in the system under the U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,151 the printing device imprints an encoded image, as well as a sequence of bar codes or terminal codes.
The described systems require the elaborated scanning equipment and special composite mediums (materials) for reliable re-scanning under testing. On the other hand, increase of image contrast and reproducibility of repeated scanning in existing systems magnifies probability for copying and counterfeiting.
The closest technical solution for the system under the present invention is the system and method of marking goods disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,561. The said system comprises a control computer, a main computer, a marking system and a testing reader, all of the devices being compatible and connected by a communication system. The marking system comprises a printer, a reader, and a processing and control unit that is connected to the main computer by a modem. Marks in the form of a two-dimensional encrypted image are imprinted on an article or on a material the product is made of.
The image may be scanned by a reading device and encrypted in the form of encrypted data. Then the data are compared with the authentication data of the database, or the data are decoded and compared with the data stored in the central database of the main computer.
The marking system ensures control of image printing by means of a certain number of authentication codes, which should be applied prior to that, when the re-authentication is required. When printed, the encoded image is scanned and recognized as a true one in the central database. Then the image may be stored in the database together with the relevant information referring to the said particular product.
During checking goods, alongside with authentication the goods are tested in respect of duplication of unique codes, whereby counterfeited goods are so detected.
The system provides a fairly sharp and easily readout image. Nevertheless, the system is not able to defend the producer from counterfeiting in a full scope, since an image is easily reproduced, and a counterfeited copy of a product may happen to be the first one during re-testing of mass goods.
The aim of the invention is development of a reliable method and system for recognizing of marking, uniqueness of marking, as well as control of movement of goods.